Happy New Year
by Tinat68
Summary: There's a party, that's where the trouble begins...
1. Chapter 1

_No, I do not own Rookie Blue. _

_Well with New Year's Eve coming...I started thinking. Maybe Sam should have a party..._

_Like it? Hate it? Please review and thank you so much if you do! Take care, Cheers! _

* * *

It was New Year's Eve at Sam's house. The mood throughout was joyous. All of the officers from the 15 and other area departments stood around talking and laughing looking forward to midnight. It was only minutes away.

Andy was standing with her friends Dov, Edie, Chris, and Gail they were there in their own corner of the room. Traci was in the kitchen talking to her on again off again boyfriend Jerry.

Andy checked the front hallway once and again sighed, he wasn't going to make it. Luke was busy once again and would not be here. She thought maybe he'd try at least once, for her but it didn't seem like it was going to happen.

Everyone in her group was a couple tonight, everyone but her. She saw Sam moving about the room, he laughed and talked with everyone. He kept catching her eye, _Oh stop it your with Luke remember that. _It had been hard lately because Luke seemed to never be around and Sam seemed to be always around.

Every time she seemed to need him, Sam appeared. Whether it was just to make her laugh when she was down or a shopping trip together for Christmas presents (Luke was too busy to go). Or driving completely out of his way to take her to Luke's house after shift, if Luke wasn't around. Christmas Eve he even took time to drop her off at her Dad's before joining his own Mom and Dad for the holiday. He even came in to help her with her packages and stayed for a bit talking to Tommy.

And then there were the diamond stud earrings he bought her for Christmas. They were beautiful; he said he bought them so that she could wear them whenever she wanted. They were small enough that she could wear them to work. Andy knew they may be small but the way they sparkled, they were very expensive. She tried to give them back and he said no, he got them on sale and he wanted her to have them.

Andy had them on tonight. Actually she had been wearing them since he gave them to her Christmas Eve. She didn't think about why. It wasn't as if Luke noticed. He bought her a very costly watch. He asked why she didn't wear it; she said she didn't want it to get knocked around at work. Really, she didn't wear it because it was so heavy it felt like a shackle around her wrist.

Everything lately felt like a shackle except the time she spent with Sam. She felt so much freer to be herself.

Sam smiled as he spotted her; he motioned towards the inner hallway, to meet him. He asked her to act as his hostess tonight. She did have a boyfriend, who seemed to care nothing about what she did. So why not?

Well Luke was clearly not thinking about her tonight so why should she be thinking about him, she reasoned. They met in the darkened hallway leading to the bedrooms and bath. "Well everybody seems to be having a good time. Thank you so much for agreeing to help out tonight I couldn't have done this without you." Sam said with a grin. That damn sexy grin that he had been using on her all to often lately.

Andy thought she was going to explode with feeling. She forced herself to look away. "No problem Sam, it was my pleasure." _Oh god, don't start wanting him again._ _Don't do this._

She realized that there was only 30 seconds left before midnight. Every one was running around getting their glasses. She and Sam had already set up an area earlier with plastic champagne glasses and Chris and Dov were busy pouring everyone champagne to ring in the new year.

10, 9, 8, 7...

She looked around the room and then back to Sam. He had two glasses of champagne in his hands. Where did those come from? She thought. He smiled and offered one. "Thank you." She said reaching for the glass.

4, 3, 2, 1… the room exploded with "Happy New Year" being shouted. Andy turned to look around; everyone was kissing somebody. She looked back to Sam, he shrugged his shoulders and he leaned in giving her a smacking kiss her on the lips. He went to pull back, but stopped only a few inches away, he looked at her. The electricity crackling between them as they stood and stared. Desire, it was there so thickly that neither one heard anyone else in the room.

Sam took her glass and put both glasses on the nearest table, he reached for her hand and they quickly slipped down the hallway that lead to Sam's bedroom. He brought her just inside the bedroom, turned her to him. They reached for each other at the same time, there mouths meeting. They kissed hard, their tongues rubbing, their hands all over each other.

Sam pulled back, both of them breathing raggedly. His hand caressed her face. One of her earrings twinkling at him in the dimness of the light. She still had them on, he thought. "We better stop this now." He said.

"No," she said her hands on his waist. She didn't stop to think, she just felt. "I don't want to." Lifting her face to his for another kiss. This one was slower and longer and sexier. She pulled at his waist, pulling him in closer to her.

Sam moaned. He couldn't help himself; she was doing crazy things to him. He walked her back against the wall. He framed her face with his hands to hold her still while he kissed her.

He stopped again and growled her name, "McNally…we can't…not now…stay with me later." He said moving his torso against hers. Oh god, what was he doing, he thought. All this time they had spent together lately, during work and after, had finally caught up with him. He wanted her so badly; he ached.

Andy felt the same way; she put Luke out of her mind. She didn't think, she just felt. She was drowning in his eyes and she didn't care. "Yes." She breathed. She would have promised him anything in that moment. Oh god yes, later. she thought.

They looked over themselves making sure that their clothes and hair was back in place before stepping out into the hallway. Andy entered the living room with Sam trailing behind her, just in time to see Luke step through the front door. He smiled widely at her, raising his arms and mouthing "I'm sorry," to her.

She assumed he meant he was sorry he was late. She heard a groan behind her, knowing all to well whom that belonged too. Sam quickly walked around her, leaving her standing there alone as Luke approached. He pulled her into his arms, hugged her to him and said "Happy New Year honey, sorry, I tried to make it on time."

She looked up at him. "Happy New Year." She said as he swooped down and covered her mouth with his. She tried to smile when he pulled away. "Want something to drink?" she asked needing time to get away from him and calm down.

"Sure" he said, "I'll have a beer." Luke answered.

"Be right back." She said and walked into the kitchen. She thought Sam was in there, he wasn't. She walked out towards the entrance to his garage, he had an extra refrigerator out there with the beer in it. She grabbed Luke's beer and started back and reached to pull the door she left ajar.

That's when she heard voices coming from the hallway. It was two women talking, once she heard Luke's name she stopped to listen.

"Can you believe it?" The first female voice said.

"I know, looks like he's playing them both. I thought Vivian said he was going to dump her?" The second voice said.

"I saw them together two nights ago, he certainly didn't look like he was still with his girlfriend then." She laughed. "His tongue was practically down her throat. When I saw Andy hanging all over Swarek tonight I thought that he wasn't lying; he was through with her."

The second voice chimed in. "Yeah I thought Vivian said she was seeing Luke tonight. Did you see the look on Andy's face when he walked in? Where were she and Swarek before then? That poor guy, I actually feel sorry him."

"Yeah really," the other one said, "she's playing Luke with Swarek and he's playing her with Vivian. Viv's a big girl she can take care of herself, I just hate to see Sam get treated like this. Hell when this is over, I wouldn't mind stepping in to soothe his fractured ego, he is so yummy." They both laughed.

A male voice stopped their conversation. "Hey you two, been looking for you. Come on and join the party. Got a couple of guys from the 12 I'd like you to meet."

Andy's heart was in her throat. She just stood there; she didn't recognize any of the voices. _What a mess. No wonder he's been so extra busy. That cheating creep…well…no, I didn't cheat, I just kissed Sam…and then promised to stay the night with him. Oh Christ what am I gonna do now? What if I lose Sam in all this…little miss yummy is just waiting to soothe him after!_

Andy grabbed the doorway to steady herself; she straightened her shoulders and set out to look for Luke. She found Sam instead, standing away from the crowd of people. He just stood leaning against the doorway of the living room. Andy walked up, "Sam?" he turned to her. "I have to go with Luke right now but we need to talk later."

He just shrugged his shoulders, "You know what McNally. There's a line I've heard before that applies to this situation. 'Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me' do you have any idea just how many times you've screwed me over? I'm use to it by now. Go with Luke." He turned and walked away from her.

She was overwhelmed. Go to Sam? Or to Luke?

* * *

_**Well? I haven't tried this angle yet...running out of angles. They need to get this show back on! **_


	2. Chapter 2

_Here is chapter 2...let me know what you think._

_I want to take a moment to thank all of you that have been reviewing. Your reviews overwhelm me. I thank each and everyone of you that review or set a story alert, favorite story, favorite author? (OMG) thank you so much! I'd love to name all of you but if I forgot someone I would feel awful...so thank you thank you thank you!_

* * *

Andy quickly found Luke, she handed him his beer and said she had one more hostess duty to perform and she would be back in a minute. He said he would mingle in her absent. _Yeah, I bet you will_. She thought walking away.

She wasn't about to leave here without trying to talk to him again. She looked all over the house. She didn't want anyone to know she was looking for him, so she did not ask anyone if they had seen him.

After checking every room she finally found herself back by the door to the garage. She peeked in, the light was off she didn't see anyone at first. She heard a scraping sound. She stepped down the stairs and there was Sam, standing in the doorway of the exit to the backyard. She would have missed him if she simply just looked in the garage.

She approached him, "What do you want, McNally?" she missed a step. How did he know it was her? She thought.

"I can't leave like this," she said. "I need to tell you something and I need you to be my friend right now."

She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Here we go again, he thought. Damn! "What's wrong, McNally?" he asked.

"Something really terrible just happened and I don't know what to do…"

"Don't put more into it than that, it was just a kiss." He said.

"That's not what I meant!" It was pretty obvious he wasn't going to be any help to her now. "God I hate it when you get like this. You make it impossible to talk to you!" She was standing just behind him; he wouldn't look at her.

"Well McNally, why do I get like this, don't you ever wonder?" He looked back at her, "I am sick of being yanked around by you; you want to be _my_ friend right now? Then just get the hell out of here and take _him_ with you, before I do something I'll regret."

"Oh?" she asked daringly, "like what? What are you going to do to me Sam?" She stood her ground, he would never hurt her, she knew that much. This was more important than Luke and his cheating; that could wait. She wasn't going to let this go, she spent way too much time in the past letting what they had between them go.

"Don't push me." He growled at her, every inch of his body stiff with tension.

"Why? _What_ are you going to do?" She hoped, wished he would reach out and grab her, kiss her, anything. When he didn't; she continued on. "I see, well when this is all said and done I'm coming after you and I will push and push you." She said pointing her finger at him. "You will tell me what I need to know then, that I promise you." She turned on her heel and walked away.

His mouth dropped open, for the first time he couldn't think of anything to say. _What the hell was she talking about? _He closed his eyes and groaned in frustration. _Damn that woman, _he thought as he started to follow her.

Staying a distance behind, he watched her walk into the living room; he stayed back in the doorway. She talked to Luke for less than a moment and he rubbed her arm and walked out.

She turned, somehow knowing Sam was standing there. She looked at him for a moment, she held his gaze for what seemed forever before she turned and left.

Sam just stood there, she was screwing him up so bad he just couldn't think straight anymore. The way she looked at him almost made him follow her out the door. He went into the kitchen instead and poured himself a shot. It may be after midnight but this party didn't look like it was over yet.

* * *

Andy left Sam in the garage. He wasn't in any frame of mind right now to listen to her. Could she really blame him? Not more than twenty minutes ago she was all over him. She was disgusted with herself, trying to push him into grabbing her and kissing her just now.

_Am I crazy? I just find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me and I'm more worried about how Sam is feeling? Then I'm standing there practically begging him to kiss me? Why did I run to him as soon as I found out about Luke?_ _Why didn't I tell him about Luke?_ _I went there to ask for advice, or something, I just don't know. Maybe this was catalyst I needed, maybe Luke was never right for me?_

She was shocked when she first heard about Luke but now after what Sam had said, what she felt standing there. How desperate she realized she was for him, Luke's apparent disloyalty just felt like…what? Did she deserve it? Had she already given up on the situation and this was just the last act in their relationship?

What relationship, she thought. We have been roommates for months now. Sam was the one who has been there, he always there. Well until now, now it seems like he's given up.

Not wanting to cause a scene at Sam's house and certainly not wanting to air her dirty laundry in public she smiled when she reached Luke. "I'm so tired," she said, "I know you just got here but do you mind if we leave?"

"Sure," he said rubbing her arm, "you look beat, lets go." Luke started to move through the crown on his way out.

Andy knew he was there, she always knew when he was there. Maybe that's why he knew she was in the garage, because he always felt her presence too. She turned; he stood in the doorway looking at her. She stood for a moment, trying to tell him with her eyes what she couldn't tell him with her lips. She still wanted him, only him.

She turned and left. She caught up with Luke at his car. He opened the door for her; she got in. He walked around the car and got in himself. He went to put the keys in the ignition but stopped and looked at her, "You alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said. She needed time to think before she laid out all the information she recently heard. She also needed more time to think about Sam. She wanted to be back there right now she much she just wanted to scream his name.

She didn't know what to do once they got home. She could call Traci or her father. Her father would come and get her but she didn't want to involve him. Traci was with Jerry tonight; at least that's what it looked like. And she felt uncomfortable with Jerry knowing her personal problems.

That's when she decided that she would wait until morning.

They got back to their house, his house. She was so glad when they walked in and he said he had work to do. When they moved in he took the downstairs den and turned it into a home office. That was his domain; she never interfered when he was in there. Now she wondered about all that time he spent in there.

She said okay, she was tired and going to bed. She went up the stairs and left him to his work. She changed into her night clothes and waited for a few minutes before sneaking back down again. Quietly she stepped closer to the door, she could hear him speaking softly.

"No I didn't get a chance, she was tired and went to bed." He whispered.

"I know what I said, I just haven't found the right time yet."

"Of course I care about you, I told you that already…yes, yes I know. Look Viv you've got to be patient all right? I have to be fair to her…"

"Don't say that…"

"Don't threaten me, if you say anything to her and hurt her I'll…"

"Look I told you, I love _you_, okay? Just give me some more time."

"I know, okay, I love you. Bye."

Andy walked into the den; she didn't doubt what she heard earlier. Things had already started to fall into place. But now? There was no other conclusion.

Luke jumped when she entered the room. "Andy, you're still up? I thought you went to bed."

"Obviously." She said.

"Wha…what do you mean?" he asked looking so guilty.

"Luke I heard your conversation, well at least your end of the conversation." She said quietly.

"Then why aren't you screaming at me?" His face had turned red.

"Why? What good would it do? You have found somebody else…I already heard about Vivian at the party tonight, who is she?"

"Who told you?" she remained quiet. "Andy? Please understand…"

"Luke who is she?" she was insistent.

"She's a detective out of the 12, we've known each other since we were rookies together." Luke couldn't quite grasp Andy's mood. She was so calm, he couldn't quite figure out why…until.

"Oh I get it, its Swarek." He said.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I couldn't figure out why you are handling this so mildly, now I know. It's Sam isn't it? Finally ready to admit you have feelings for him?" This discussion was not how each other had imagined.

"Don't bring Sam into this Luke, I didn't cheat with him, you did cheat with her." _Ok so I thought about it, was going to…he doesn't need to know that._

"So what now, Andy?" he asked.

"Well you can call her back and tell her that in the morning I'll be packing up my stuff and leaving. She can have you." She said numbly.

"Should I call Sam too?" Luke said getting aggravated at her calm.

"Luke lets be reasonable about this, I just caught you cheating on me. Don't throw Sam in my face and for your good, I wouldn't approach him any time soon either. Tomorrow morning I'll call Traci so I would appreciate if you were not here when she gets here." She turned and walked back up the stairs. She almost wished she could cry about this, instead she felt free.

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**_This was a very hard chapter to write. I know that Luke was cheating...but wasn't Andy going to too? In my mind they had already given up on each other. Let me know what you think. _**


	3. Chapter 3

Happy New Year to everyone!

Here is Chapter 3...update soon :)

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Andy went upstairs and got into bed, lying there for a moment. She went to reach for her cell phone and then pulled back.

His party was probably still going on. Even if he did answer her, though, she doubted that he would. What would she say to him? Why couldn't she have found out tomorrow that Luke was cheating? Why couldn't she have had her night with Sam?

She sighed looking over at the phone. _Ok so I'll call and say…what?_ She didn't want to call him and tell him about Luke. Somehow she just knew he would take this and twist it. It would go from them finally acknowledging they have feelings for one another, to her only wanting him now because Luke was cheating.

Why does life have to work that way? Why couldn't she have had the strength to do something about this before now? She knew this was all her fault but still, why is it that we can never have what we really want in life? We work so hard for something and end up not getting it anyway. _Is it just me or does this happen to everyone? _

She thought of Luke, yet another failed relationship to add to the pile_. I tried, I really tried but that feeling just wasn't there. He didn't have that feeling either, she knew that. He doesn't say silly things just to make me laugh. He isn't there when I really need him, he proved that time and time again. He doesn't know what I'm going to say or how I'm going to think about something before even I know how I will react. He…he isn't Sam. _

Andy's heart turned over, she looked at the phone again. She picked up it and hit the speed dial already programmed in the phone. Her hand shook as she put the phone to her ear. It rang once, then again, it rang two more times before going to voice mail.

_Should I be surprised? No. _She hung up without leaving a voice mail. She put the phone down next to her, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

* * *

Sam pulled the phone out of his back pocket, he saw it was her. He started to walk out of the room to take the call then stopped. _No, it's time to stop being at her beck and call, literally._ He put the phone back into his pocket.

It started to bother him, it's already almost one thirty and almost everyone was gone. Zoey and Oliver stayed behind with Noelle and Frank to help clean up. They were done now, just sitting around talking, getting ready to call it a night.

Why is she calling me at one thirty, she should have been home, way before now. His mind started to turn, what if she was in an accident or there's a problem. She could be hurt. No, she's with Luke, she's safe.

He groaned to himself for the hundredth time this evening. This was making him crazy. He rose and walked into the hallway to his bedroom and hit the redial.

* * *

Andy jumped when her phone rang. She saw it was him. _Oh god what do I say now?_ She was paralyzed for a moment starting at her phone ringing. She reached for it. "Hello?" she said quietly.

"Do you know what time it is?" he barked at her.

"Not really no." she responded.

He was quiet for a moment taking in the strange note in her voice. "McNally, what's wrong?" he sighed.

"I'm sorry I bothered you Sam, I didn't realize it was so late. Is the party over already?"

"Yep, few people stayed to help clean up, you know, since my hostess ditched me."

"I didn't want to, I didn't want to leave you."

"McNally, is there some reason for this call? Are you hurt or in jail? Because if not, I still have things to do and then I'm going to bed."

"Alone?" she asked.

"I really don't think that's any of your business, you're not going to bed alone."

"Yes, I am. I hate that things worked out this way, but I am going to bed alone."

She just heard him sigh into the phone. "Andy I can't take much more of this, you have to make some kind of decision. Look you're not due back to Monday, same as me right?"

She knew just what he was going to say before he said it. She hesitated and then said. "Yes."

"Then just do me a favor, okay? Lets just take these next couple of days to think and I'll talk to you on Monday okay?"

She couldn't talk because she throat closed up. She tried but the tears that threatened to fall earlier finally did.

"Andy?" he said and groaned again. "Please tell me you're not crying."

"No…" she tried to clear her throat and quickly said. "I'm fine, I'll talk to you on Monday." and she disconnected the line. She put the phone on the nightstand and turned onto her side and let the tears fall.

* * *

Sam stared at his phone. He thought about calling her back but…he couldn't bring himself to do it. She was crying, he knew that much. But she wasn't in trouble; she wasn't hurt.

_His heart was bleeding, not that she would care._

He put the phone on his nightstand and walked back out to his friends. They already had their coats on and were ready to walk out. He thanked them all for staying and helping out. After all the Happy New Year's and thank yous, they left.

Sam turned out the lights and went into his bedroom; half expecting his phone alert on, that he missed a call. It wasn't. He just kicked off his shoes, took his jeans off and crawled into bed. All the while staring at the phone. He still thought about calling back, but he didn't. He fell asleep staring at his phone.

* * *

Andy called Traci as soon as she woke up. Surprisingly Traci had not had much to drink last night either, she was awake, preparing Leo to go for the weekend to his fathers. He was due any minute.

"What are you doing today?" Andy asked.

"You don't sound very good, what's up?" Traci asked.

"Well…how do you feel about coming over here and helping me pack? And then how do you feel about having a roommate for a few weeks?"

"Oh my god!" Traci said, "Yes, I'll be over as soon as Leo leaves." Traci had been saying to Andy all along that she didn't think the Luke thing was going to work out and that Andy was welcome at her place.

For the first time in hours, Andy was able to laugh. "Oh Traci, it's a mess."

"Okay, well you hold that thought because I'm going to get it together here and I should be there within the hour."

"Okay, see you then. Bye." Andy hung up and got out of bed. She walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The house was quiet; he was gone. She felt bad for a moment, just a moment.

There was a piece of paper by the coffee pot.

_I am very sorry that things worked out this way. I didn't want to hurt you. Please don't hate me. I hope that you open yourself up and find true love. I think it's waiting for you._

_Please call me if you need anything. Don't worry you don't have to get everything today. Hey maybe you can call Sam and borrow his truck. Luke._

She wondered what that last sentence meant. Was that his parting shot or? She balled up the paper and threw it in the trash. She started to make coffee, when she went to empty the old coffee grounds in the trash, she saw the note. She picked it up and put it in her pocket. She'd try to decipher it later.

By the time Traci got there she had most of her clothes sorted out. For some reason she kept a few of the moving boxes folded up in the garage. Hindsight, she thought. For now she was just worried about personal items and her clothes. She would take Luke up on his offer and early next week she'd rent a storage unit to put the rest of her things in.

She had left the front door unlocked, she heard Traci enter. She yelled, "I'm up here." Wow she thought; Traci got here early. The footfalls coming up the stairs sounded a lot louder then Traci, she walked into the hallway and ran right into Sam. She screamed at first, not expecting a male.

"Jesus McNally, what's wrong with you?" he said gently pushing her away.

"What are you doing here? She asked stunned.

"What am I doing here? Luke called me, said I needed to get over here right away because you needed me. I almost didn't come here, what the hell is going on now?" He was aggravated and so was she.

"I don't know why he called you, I didn't tell him to. But you can just turn your ass right around and go home, I don't need you." she stared to turn to go back into the bedroom.

"Well that's just too bad, I'm here and I'm not going until I get an explanation." He crossed his arms as he entered her bedroom. He looked around; there were clothes everywhere. "You having a yard sale in January?" Things were starting to fall into place for him but he just wanted to be ornery.

"Just shut up, Sam." She said quietly as she continued to pack her boxes.

"You're moving out?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, Einstein, I'm moving out."

"What a way to start the new year." She turned to him narrowed her eyes, he was just leaning against the doorjamb watching her.

"Look I don't have time for polite chitchat right now, I'm waiting for Traci. She's on her way to help me so why don't you just hit the road. We can talk on Monday."

"Oh hell no, this I have to hear. Why did Luke call me? Ahhh…my truck. Lazy ass didn't stay to help you, huh?"

Andy had to stop and close her eyes for a moment. Trying to calm down, she really didn't appreciate his flip attitude. She was going to strangle Luke when she saw him next.

She turned to give him a piece of her mind; he was standing right next to her. She jumped. "Do you mind? I thought I asked you to leave?"

He stepped back a step, just ignoring her. "Why did you call me last night? Did you call me to tell me you and Luke broke up?"

Andy looked at him, "No my phone dialed you by accident…"

"Yeah right, it did. Was that why you were crying?"

"Andy!" she heard Traci call out. Traci saved her from saying anything; she was here. She was not alone; she brought Jerry with her. She could hear them talking. Now she wanted to strangle Luke, Traci and Sam.

"Hey I brought Jerry with me…thought he could help." She said coming around the doorway into the bedroom. "Hey Sam," she said. "I thought that was your truck outside. This shouldn't be too hard then…" Her voice faded seeing the look on Andy's face.

"Well I guess it's just one big happy party then isn't it?" Sam said seeing Andy's reaction too. He bumped Andy as if to snap her out of her thoughts. "Shouldn't be to hard then." He said again to her.

He's still covering for me, she thought.

"Yeah, too bad I didn't have the storage unit yet, we could probably get it all out today."

"We can," Sam offered, "just put the stuff in my garage for now."

By then Jerry had caught up with Traci and all of them were standing there waiting for Andy to respond.

* * *

**Well? I thought this could be fun... let me know what you think. And thank you for reading :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_This is Chapter 4, the last chapter. There will be an epilogue to follow tomorrow, I'm hoping. :)_

_Thank you so much all of you! You all are the most encouraging, wonderful people. I really do appreciate the reviews and alerts...all of it. You don't know how much that motivates me to continue. Happy New Year! tina_

* * *

Oh God she didn't know if this was going to be a good idea, putting her stuff in Sam's garage? Well she didn't really have that much. A couch, couple of chairs, kitchen set, bed, linens…etc, she thought. She probably would only use half of the area.

Most of the things in Luke's house now were his. Her stuff was still in some boxes in the basement. She shifted from one foot to the other while they stood there waiting for her answer. She looked nervously at Sam, not sure whether he was offering to be nice or if he felt backed into a corner. His face was unreadable.

"Well," she said "if you're really okay with it Sam that would be a good idea. I plan on looking for an apartment right away so my stuff wouldn't be there…"

Sam cut her off. "It's alright really, take the time you need. Lets just get the stuff out of here today." He looked so understanding at that moment she felt her lip quiver trying to hold back. She didn't deserve him, she really didn't.

She told Traci and Jerry about the boxes in the basement. They went down there to get them into Jerry's car so that there was room in Sam's truck for the bigger things.

After she told them where to find the items and then she turned back to her packing. Sam came up beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

She turned to him. "Nope." he just shook his head, she knew she said the wrong thing to him. "Wait, I want to talk about it, I need to talk about it with you, okay? You're the only one I can talk about it with, but right now…I just want to concentrate on getting out of here."

When he still didn't say anything, she reached over and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for being here, I don't know why he called you. I can't believe he called you, but thank you for coming. You are my hero."

Sam smiled sheepishly, after everything that happened last night and the things he said, he couldn't believe he was here either. "Anything for a damsel in distress. Besides you know we wouldn't be able to make it till Monday without talking."

That gave away so much to Andy, she smiled at him. She really looked at him, he was gorgeous, inside and out.

"Andy don't look at me like that." He said staring at her.

"Like what?" She said smiling.

"You know what." He said.

"No why don't you tell me?" She teased.

Sam just grunted and said changing the subject. "Get your ass moving, would you? You think I want to hang out in this house all day?"

"Well then help me pack." She fired back.

Of course the first pile of clothes Sam went to was the lingerie pile. Andy sidestepped him and grabbed the pile. "I'll take care of these, thank you. You pack the jeans and sweatshirts in that box." She pointed.

All she heard from him was some grumbling about lack of perks and there better be some pizza and beer waiting for him somewhere along the way today.

The truce they called had worked like magic. Everyone pitched in and after two truckloads and three and a half hours later, they were done. An exhausted Traci and Jerry were waiting outside for the final run to Sam's and then to Traci's house. Andy was standing in the kitchen taking the house keys off her key ring when Sam walked in. "Ready?" he asked. "We're all loaded up and ready to go."

"Yes…I just think I should leave him a note before going." She said looking for a pen and paper.

"So what was the nature of the breakup?" she looked up at him when he asked. "You know so I can help you write the note." She knew he was just teasing her.

Andy raised an eyebrow at him; she shook her head.

"What? Before I was the hero and now I'm…?" he tried to act hurt.

"Nosy, that's what you are." She said pointing a finger at him. "Go warm the truck up, I'll be right out."

She thought for a moment before she began writing.

_Luke, Since you sent Sam over, we were able to get everything out today. At least I hope so. Thank you for leaving this morning, I think it made it much easier for both of us._

_I hope that we will be able to maintain some civility at work. I wish things could have worked out different for us. But as you said, I hope that you do not hate me either. Andy._

She reread her note; she could feel air on her neck. She knew he sneaked back in; he was standing over her shoulder trying to see the note.

She turned and playfully pushed him away. "I knew that you would sneak…"

Sam grabbed her arms and pulled her close. He caught her lips with his giving her a smacking kiss. He pulled away and she caught his head in her hand, bringing his head back down. They kissed hard for a moment, opening their mouths at the same time to deepen the kiss.

When they pulled away Sam noticed that Andy had one single tear just beginning to fall. He lifted his hand and let the tear fall on his finger.

"Thank you." She said again staring into his eyes. "I'm not crying because of him, I'm crying because…I don't know why I'm crying."

He seemed to understand and just held her tighter in his arms a few moments longer. She nestled in and laid her head on her shoulder. Sam stroked her hair a few times. "You okay?" he asked softly.

She pulled back and looked at him. "I am now." Was all she said as she tried to smile. They both pulled back and walked out of the kitchen and then out of the house that she once lived with Luke.

They were on their way to Sam's house when he looked at her. "Okay, so just give me a hint. Or better yet, who broke up with who?" he asked.

"Do you think that you can contain your joy about this? It's really…I don't know…childish?"

"Yeah whatever, just answer the question." He persisted.

"It was mutual, how's that?" she said.

"Mutual? That's all I get? After breaking my back today…that's what I get, mutual?"

"That's all you get. Well and pizza and beer." She said. She knew he was really just trying to tease her and make her more at ease with the situation. Her Sam, that was what he always did for her.

She picked up her phone and asked "What's the name of that place you get that really good pizza from? Do you think they'll be open today?"

"Oh yeah, after all the parties last night, who wants to cook? The number is in my phone, just use that." He said handing her his phone, she reached for it and he pulled it away. "Are you going to order my favorite?"

"Yes, I know, barbeque chicken pizza. Just give me the phone." She held her hand out for it. "That's not even real pizza."

"Hey, I know for a fact that you love it too, so cool it."

"Yeah, yeah…that's because you won't let me order anything else." She laughed; it was true it was her favorite too.

She called and placed an order; they would deliver it to Sam's house because he already had plenty of beer and other stuff left from the party.

They were unloading the last of the load into the garage. Traci and Jerry went into the house to wait for the pizza order and get things ready while Andy and Sam finished up.

She sat on her couch for a minute to rest. Sam came and sat beside her. He wouldn't have to go back to Traci's with her. The last of her stuff was in Jerry's car. She felt like this was the right time to tell him.

"Luke and I broke up last night…for a lot of different reasons but one of them is because I found out he was cheating on me." There she said it. He turned and looked at her and then jumped up.

"He what?" He started to pace the garage floor. "That bastard, what until I get my hands on him, I'm going to…"

"No, no…" she grabbed his arm to stop him. "I didn't tell you this so that you would get involved, I told you this because I don't want you to get involved. Please, Sam there are all kinds of rumors, about him, about us. Please don't make it worse."

"Rumors about us? McNally there has always been rumors about us."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" she was stunned.

"Because they were just that, rumors. I'm not going to live my life by what other people say and think. I could care less what they say but I didn't tell you because I knew how you would react."

"Why do you always have to try to protect me? You should have told me; maybe I could have done something about it! Wait a minute, did you know he was cheating on me?" She questioned.

Sam turned to her; he didn't want to lie but… "I heard something but I didn't put a lot of stock into it, okay? I honestly didn't believe it was true." He answered.

"Why didn't you tell me? Damn it, I thought you were my friend!" She was furious now.

"Wait a minute here, your boyfriend is cheating on you and instead of kicking his ass, you're pissed off at me?" He stepped closer, his look was menacing as he started to stalk her.

Andy backed up to the garage wall. "That's not the point." She said as he reached up and planted his hands on both sides of the wall beside her head.

"So what's the point McNally?" he said close to her face.

"I don't know, I can't think when you are standing so close."

"Why is that? What are you thinking about right now?" He asked softly. She felt his breath against her face. She closed her eyes. "Look at me McNally, what are you thinking about?"

She opened her eyes but she couldn't say anything. She just stared at him ready to go wherever he led. "Never mind," he said disgustedly dropping his hands and moving away, "look you deal with your situation and I'll stay out of it." He was just so sick of being aroused by her only to have her freeze up on him.

Oh god, not now, she couldn't take anymore of this. "I'm thinking about us Sam." She said quietly with her head down. "I'm thinking about how dumb I was to wait so long...before I realized that I didn't love Luke…and that I'm never going to love him because…I'm in love with you."

Sam turned, completely surprised. He couldn't have heard what he thought he just did. "What? What did you say?"

She looked at him, her heart in her eyes. "I said that I love you! And if you twist this and try to make it seem like I'm only saying this because he was cheating. So help me Sam I will…"

She couldn't finish the rest, his mouth was on hers. They kissed long and hard, Sam pulled away to kiss her neck, "McNally? You are driving me insane."

Andy smiled lifting her head to give him better access. He reached for her mouth again.

"The pizza's here." Traci said opening the door seeing the two of them intwined. "Oh sorry, emm…the pizza's here." She repeated and shut the door. They didn't see the smile on her face as she walked into the hallway to the kitchen.

"They coming? I'm starved." Jerry said opening one of the boxes.

"I think we can start without them." Traci said.

"Barbeque chicken pizza?" Jerry exclaimed, "Errr…I hate that stuff, it's not even pizza."

* * *

**I wanted a short story this time. I didn't want to drag it out. I'll try to have that epilogue done tomorrow. :) Cheers!**


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Sam sat on a bar stool in the Black Penny. Six months, he thought. Six months since she moved out of Luke's house. He sat quietly, any one noticing he was there could tell by his body language that he did not want to be bothered.

Someone put some money in the jukebox; he heard a song come on. It was Maroon 5; the song was called "Misery", a self-depreciation laugh slipped past. It would figure that a song called Misery would describe Andy and his' relationship. It wasn't really true, he was just pissed right now. But that song was them…all them.

He looked at his cell phone on the bar in front of him. It was her, calling again. At first he was too angry to pick up, now he figured if she thought about it. She would know where he was. She could come to him.

The past six months had been heaven, mostly. Since her break up with Luke she wanted to take time before completely jumping into a relationship with him. That was a long week he thought, laughing to himself; didn't take her long to realize that they were already in a relationship.

One week of sleeping on Traci's couch. Andy all but lived with him now; of course everyone else thought that Andy lived with Traci. She was worried about appearances or something. He couldn't remember what anymore. Only the four of them, Traci, Jerry, Andy and he knew the truth. He was sure a lot of people guessed but no one dared asked.

That woman, he thought, for six months we played this charade. Months of dropping her off in the morning at Traci's so they could ride in together. Months of hanging around together at the Penny; pretending that they were just good friends, then leaving the bar to go home and act like they were a couple…so now she wants…a ring…a promise…a life together. Nobody knows we have a relationship…but now she wants a ring?

The ring was in his pocket, weighing down his jacket and his thoughts.

It's her birthday today, she had been subtly hinting, practically with a sledgehammer for weeks now. He wasn't stupid but he didn't let on either. He knew what she wanted and he would give her anything. It was going to give her it today before she exploded at him over a little tiny joke. That little tiny joke got him booted out of his own house.

They fought hard and loved each other even harder. But she would not listen this time. He had two boxes…one was wrapped up in beautiful paper, there was a lovely card attached. She yanked it out of his hand as soon as he produced it when they got home tonight. She opened the box, she was furious. She tried to hide it; the earrings were beautiful but she couldn't hold back.

At first he thought she was going to burst into tears but when she looked at him, it was not tears; it was flames in her eyes. Seeing her face he thought he better get the other box fast. She, it seemed wasn't amused.

That's when all hell broke loose. He turned to grab his jacket as he was turning back he felt the box hit him in the corner of his temple. "How could you?" she yelled. "For weeks now, you've known what I wanted, Sam Swarek and you purposely bought me earrings? What is this away? Why buy the cow when you're getting the milk for free?" She stood there ready to take him on; she was beautiful but wholly dangerous.

He was shocked speechless all he could say was, "You hit me in the head with your birthday present."

"It's going to be more then a tiny little box if you don't get the hell out of here right now."

"Andy."

She put her hand up to stop him, "I don't want to hear it."

"But Andy."

"Sam! I've done exactly what you wanted for months, I was ready to show everyone months ago that we were together but no, you wanted to continue this little game. Yeah because you were just so happy with the way things were, right? No real commitments?"

"What? What the hell are you talking about? I've been wanting this? Are you crazy? I have been doing this crazy routine because this is what you wanted! Not me, don't blame me! You know what, you're right I do want to get the hell out the of here!" He took the jacket that was in his hand already and stormed out of the house.

He saw Luke enter the bar, oh great, he thought. _I still want to kick his ass._ He sat there thinking about putting his fist through Callaghan's face when his phone rang again. _That woman is going to be the death of me. _

She managed to tie him up in knots in only a short time of knowing her and now? She was still tying, just bigger knots.

Luke hinted at him a few times about Andy and him. Andy didn't want him involved in that situation so he stayed out of it. It worked out anyway because Luke and Vivian only lasted a few weeks. Luke was now chasing after some other girl, somewhere Sam thought.

He never told Andy that he had heard gossip that Luke was cheating; it wasn't from a reliable source. He thought he would look like a begging idiot if he told her, _Hey? I think your boyfriend might be cheating on you…so how about we hook up, pleeeaaz? _Instead he just stayed close to her and tried to keep an eye on what was happening.

He was surprised as anyone when he found out it was true; he knew Luke didn't have the best reputation with women, but Andy? He really didn't think that Luke would be stupid enough to be stepping out on her. He never would. His home was happy; well it was happy…until a couple of hours ago.

What he really wanted to do was to take that ring box in his pocket and throw it at her. Now there's a hell of a way of saying. _Will you marry me, Andy?_ He rubbed the spot on his forehead, damn she was a good shot, he thought laughing to himself.

The door to the Penny swung open, oh shit, he thought. He didn't have to look, he knew…it was her.

Andy didn't look in any direction but his. She walked right up to him and grabbed his cell phone off of the bar. She opened it up. Just as she suspected, 4 voice mails waiting and six calls missed. She snapped the phone closed and put it on the bar.

Sam did not move; he was still facing forward.

"If you do not turn and look at me, Sam, I swear I will make the biggest scene in here that anyone has ever seen." Andy said in a deadly whisper.

Sam turned his chair to the side, arms crossed he stared at her. She crossed her arms too and stared right back. She seemed more aggravated then mad but he wasn't taking any chances.

They were at a impasse, Sam only knew one thing to do. He jumped off of the bar stool not giving her time to react before grabbing her and dragging her to the back door of the Penny.

Once there he turned her against the wall and his lips were on hers. He kissed her hard, his lips trying to coax hers open. He ran his hand down her side; he knew just where to touch her. He licked her bottom lip and her mouth opened for him. She kissed him back with just as much passion and need that he felt.

He used his body and his lips to keep her pressed against the wall as he reached inside of his pocket. Once he opened the box and got the ring out; his hand was back on her…pulling her arm and then her hand. Without looking, without stopping their kiss, Sam slipped her ring on her finger.

When Andy felt the cold metal on her finger she quickly moved, ending the kiss. She looked at her hand and then at him. She was stunned. "Why did you do this?" she asked.

Sam did as he normally would do and just ignored her question.

"Andy McNally?" he asked. "Will you marry me?"

* * *

_Short but sweet, I hope!_

_I didn't want to go on and on, I just wanted to answer a few questions and see them fight and make up one more time! lol_

_Thank you all of you, you all have been so encouraging throughout all four of my stories and from the bottom of my heart, thank you. _

_Please read and review...I hope you all like it and let me know even if you don't. Take care, Cheers! tina_

_BTW she really didn't hit him that hard with the box. ;)_


End file.
